Department of Entomology

Department of Entomology

Many residents in Pennsylvania and neighboring states are getting "ticked" about an insect that has made its presence known in large numbers this spring and summer. But this bug is not a species of eight-legged arthropod known to carry Lyme disease and other pathogens. It's the yellow poplar weevil, which some people have mistaken for ticks because they count the insects' antennae as a "fourth pair" of legs.

Pollinators are declining rapidly throughout the world, and researchers are scrambling to figure out why. To assist Pennsylvania's beekeepers, growers and others as they face this crisis, the Department of Entomology at Penn State has created a new faculty position that will be responsible for conducting research, education and outreach on pollinator health, conservation and management.

Two graduate students in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences have been selected to attend the Future Leaders Forum, to be held as part of the Association for International Agriculture and Rural Development annual meeting, May 31-June 2 in Washington, D.C. Sarah Eissler and Megan Wilkerson were among only 12 students selected to participate out of nearly 100 applicants from universities across the country.

Use of a class of insecticides, called neonicotinoids, increased dramatically in the mid-2000s and was driven almost entirely by the use of corn and soybean seeds treated with the pesticides, according to researchers at Penn State.

Honey bees use different sets of genes, regulated by two distinct mechanisms, to fight off viruses, bacteria and gut parasites, according to researchers at Penn State and the Georgia Institute of Technology. The findings may help scientists develop honey bee treatments that are tailored to specific types of infections.

Obesity and diabetes are not just problems of modern-day humans and their domesticated pets. Insects also are affected by these health conditions, and intestinal infections by protozoans are the cause, according to researchers at Penn State. The research suggests that intestinal infections may contribute to metabolic diseases in humans as well. Ruud Schilder, assistant professor of entomology and biology, has received a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation to expand upon these findings.

Insecticides aimed at controlling early-season crop pests, such as soil-dwelling grubs and maggots, can increase slug populations, thus reducing crop yields, according to researchers at Penn State and the University of South Florida.

People seeing the spotted lanternfly for the first time are struck by its sometimes-flashy appearance. But don't let its colorful, butterfly-like veneer fool you, caution entomologists in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. This exotic, invasive insect poses a potential threat to several important agricultural commodities in Pennsylvania.

David Hughes understands the devastating effects a plant disease can have on crops and the people who rely on them for food and income. This understanding, and the mentoring he received early in his research career, germinated the seed of an idea that has borne fruit in the form of an online network designed to get practical knowledge about plants and plant diseases into the hands -- and mobile devices -- of farmers around the globe.

Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has honored four of its graduates with 2014 Outstanding Alumni Awards. Named Outstanding Alumni were N. Alan Bair, of Lancaster; Siree Chaiseri, of Bangkok, Thailand; and Calvin Ernst, of Meadville. Justin Runyon, of Bozeman, Montana, was named Outstanding Recent Alumnus, an award that honors alumni who have graduated in the last 10 years.

An international team of researchers has designed decoys that mimic female emerald ash borer beetles and successfully entice male emerald ash borers to land on them in an attempt to mate, only to be electrocuted and killed by high-voltage current.

A parasitic fungus that reproduces by manipulating the behavior of ants emits a cocktail of behavior-controlling chemicals when encountering the brain of its natural target host but not when infecting other ant species, a new study shows. The findings, which suggest that the fungus "knows" its preferred host, provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, according to researchers.

A parasitic fungus that must kill its ant hosts outside their nest to reproduce and transmit its infection, manipulates its victims to die in the vicinity of the colony, ensuring a constant supply of potential new hosts, according to researchers at Penn State and colleagues at Brazil's Federal University of Vicosa.

An international team of researchers has discovered honey bee colonies in Newfoundland, Canada, that are free of the invasive parasites that affect honey bees elsewhere in the world. The populations offer a unique opportunity to investigate honey bee health, both with and without interfering interactions from parasites.